He decided — not all too scientifically, he admits — which places seemed like they would be verdant, and which would be deserts. “For example,” he explains, “I didn’t see much green taking hold within the area of Olympus Mons and the surrounding volcanoes, both due to the volcanic activity and the proximity to the equator (thus a more tropical climate). For these desert-like areas I mostly used textures taken from the Sahara in Africa and some of Australia. Likewise, as the terrain gets higher or lower in latitude I added darker flora along with tundra and glacial ice. These northern and southern areas textures are largely taken from around northern Russia. Tropical and subtropical greens were based on the rainforests of South America and Africa.”

In 1960, the United States put its first Earth-observing environmental satellite into orbit around the planet. Over the decades, these satellites have provided invaluable information, and the vantage point of space has provided new perspectives on Earth. This book celebrates Earth’s aesthetic beauty in the patterns, shapes, colors, and textures of the land, oceans, ice, and atmosphere. Earth-observing environmental satellites can measure outside the visible range of light, so these images show more than what is visible to the naked eye. The beauty of Earth is clear, and the artistry ranges from the surreal to the sublime. Truly, by escaping Earth’s gravity we discovered its attraction.

First coined by author Frank White in 1987, The Overview Effect is the term used to describe the cognitive shift in awareness caused by the awe-inspiring experience of viewing the Earth from orbit. To mark the 40th anniversary of the famous “Blue Marble” photograph, five astronauts describe their first-hand experience with the cosmic phenomenon.

Even if NASA does determine that the carbon came from Mars, that alone isn’t enough to confirm that Mars ever supported life. Instead, scientists must further analyze the form of carbon to find out whether or not it was abiotic, that is, the result of a non-living chemical or physical process, or whether it was biotic — the result of a biological process from a living microbe or other organism. via TPM

Marco Rubio: I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.

Although MESSENGER was launched over eight years ago, it didn’t enter its Mercurial orbit until March 2011. Since its arrival at that hot rock, it has acquired 88,746 images, and NASA has plans to acquire another 80,000 during next year’s extended mission.